Sustainable Utilization of Renewable Energy

Sustainable Utilization of Renewable Energy (SURE) promotes renewable energy for cooking, water pasteurization, and electricity. In 2012, SURE began a partnership with Solar Cookers International to provide families near Kisumu, Kenya, with Safe Water Packages. Including a solar cooking kit (CooKit, pot), water pasteurization indicator (WAPI), retained-heat cooker ("fireless cooker"), improved cookstove (Upesi), and Safe Water Jar, the Safe Water Package provides a family with tools to cook with solar every day sun shines, use an improved cookstove on rainy days or at night, and used retained-heat cooking technology with both cooking methods. Water pasteurized in the solar cooker or on the improved cookstove is stored in the Safe Water Jar to prevent recontamination. SURE's skilled representatives provide orientation, distribution, monitoring, and evaluation. Eighty percent of program beneficiaries continue to use these technologies two months after receiving the Safe Water Packages.

Recent news and developments

Local farmers attentively watch a solar cooking and water pasteurization demonstration provided by SURE.

March 2013:John Amayo, with SURE, reports that the Ministry of Agriculture in Kenya recently held a farmers field day, providing an event for local farmers to come and see new ideas. SURE participated, and were able to demonstrate solar cooking using the CooKit, a parabolic solar cooker, and a Pulsee Solar Cooker. The farmers were pleased with the meat stew prepared in the box cooker, the roasted meat on the parabolic, and water pasteurization with the Pulsee. We also used the heat retention basket on this particularly windy day. It was rewarding to be able to show how the water available was not safe for drinking, and how solar water pasteurization can make it safe.

February 2013: Kisumu County receives water pasteurization information - Former SCI Kenya staffer John Amayo runs Sustainable Utilization of Renewable Energy (SURE) in the Kadibo division of Kisumu County. With the help of Solar Cookers International and Bob Metcalf's portable microbiology lab, SURE has been able to: test local water sources and has distributed thirty safe water packages to the vulnerable in the community. The safe water packages which SURE distributes, like the ones received by FOTO beneficiaries, are accompanied by programs to educate the community on hand washing, food safety, cleanliness around the home, and solar pasteurizing or chemically treating all drinking water. SURE also has plans to harness wind power for lighting and promote the use bio-fuels like biogas for lighting and cooking.